Town of North Topsail Beach Police Department said it happened around 12:30 p.m. Bystanders jumped into the water and pulled the 14-year-old boy to safety. They were applying towels and pressure to the bite wound when first responders arrived at the beach.
EMS crews arrived 2 minutes after they were called because they were already in the area for an unrelated medical call.
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First responders then rushed the boy, identified as Blayne Brown, to Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital for treatment. Officials said doctors were able to repair Blayne's leg; he was expected to leave the hospital soon.
"It's like a bad dream," Blayne told GMA. "It's just so scary."
His friend, 14-year-old McKinley Gore was with him when it happened.
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"I was already telling people like, Blayne got bit by a shark," McKinley said. "And nobody was like listening because they thought, 'Oh, they're kids, they're just, you know, trying to be stupid. But once they saw pools of blood bigger than my hand, then they knew that I was not joking."
North Topsail Beach Police Chief William Younginer said there were no shark sightings before the incident. He also said it was rare to have shark interactions with people in the area where the boy was bitten.